The Earlier Works of Andrea Levy (ebook omnibus) (ePub)

A collection that brings together Andrea Levy's three early novels: EVERY LIGHT IN THE HOUSE BURNIN', NEVER FAR FROM NOWHERE and FRUIT OF THE LEMON.

While Andrea Levy is best known for two of her later works, SMALL ISLAND and THE LONG SONG, these novels have a power all of their own. Her emotional debut, EVERY LIGHT IN THE HOUSE BURNIN', was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, and tells the story of Angela as she casts her mind back to a childhood spent on a council estate in Highbury, as she helps her mother care for an ailing father.

NEVER FAR FROM NOWHERE is Andrea's passionate and perceptive sophomore novel, full of the pain and humour of growing up. It is the story of two sisters, Olive and Vivien, born in London to Jamaican parents and brought up on a council estate. They go to the same grammar school, but while Vivien's life becomes a chaotic mix of friendships, youth clubs, skinhead violence, A-levels, discos and college, Olive, three years older and a skin shade darker, has a very different tale to tell . . .

The collection finishes on FRUIT OF THE LEMON, a masterful novel which centres on young, ambitious Faith Jackson. Furious and perplexed when her parents announce their intention to retire back home to Jamaica, Faith makes her own journey there, where she is immediately welcomed by her Aunt Coral, keeper of a rich cargo of family history. Through the weave of her aunt's storytelling a cast of characters unfolds, in a novel that sweeps through continents.